29 July 2019: < href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/29/china-calls-for-hong-kong-swiftly-punish-violent-protesters">29 July 2019: Without mentioning Hong Kong’s organised crime groups, masked and armed thugs that conducted vicious attacks on metro commuters, protesters and journalists on 21 July, Beijing regime's Hong Kong and Macau affairs office has offered its full support to Hong Kong’s embattled leader and its police force, saying 'lawbreakers regardless of whether they hold up the banner of ‘freedom and democracy’ or wear the cap of ‘civil disobedience'' must be swiftly punished>